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Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer
ORLANDO, Fla. — Entering the 2024 season with a brand-new quarterback room, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Russell Wilson will have the “pole position,” but 2021 first-round pick Justin Fields will “have the opportunity to compete” when the time is right.
“We’ve been very transparent about the pecking order, at least to start,” Tomlin said Sunday from the NFL’s league meetings, addressing the team’s free agency additions for the first time. “I just think that provides clarity for all parties involved. Russell is a veteran, man. He’s got a proven process of readiness. He’s been in this league a long time. He’s capable of rallying troops, receivers, tight ends, running backs, et cetera. He’s just got a lot of experience in terms of what it takes to be the guy over the course of a 12-month calendar and I just think that that’s something that a younger guy like Justin could learn from.”
Tomlin added of establishing a quarterback hierarchy: “It provides clarity for all parties involved as they do some of the informal things that collectors do this time of year, whether it’s coming together to work out and destinations and things of that nature. Rest assured when it’s time to compete, Justin will be given an opportunity to compete, and we’ll allow those guys to sort themselves out.”
Tomlin said Fields has also expressed excitement about working alongside Wilson and learning from the nine-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl winner.
The renovation of the team’s quarterback position happened swiftly following the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis less than four weeks ago. Entering the 2024 offseason with just one quarterback on the roster, Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan began exploring their options on the free agent and trade market.
“We knew obviously we had to acquire some talent at the position, and so we just studied the field and levels of availability among some of the candidates in the field,” Tomlin said. “We got zeroed in on Russell and Justin among them, obviously. Probably the goal was to get one guy initially, but through conversation and work — and can’t give Omar enough credit — we were able to acquire both guys.”
After being given permission by the Denver Broncos to explore his free agency options before his official release, Wilson agreed to terms with the Steelers on the eve of the league’s legal negotiating period. Part of wooing Wilson included several high-profile defensive players including Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick reaching out to Wilson as he weighed his options. Ultimately, Tomlin said, the move to acquire Wilson stems from the organization’s desire to win a Super Bowl and turn around their postseason fortunes. The team hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016.
“We’re just trying to field the best squad we can field in an effort to achieve our ultimate goal, which is to win the Super Bowl. and so, there are no guardrails to that now.” Tomlin said. “We’re looking at all components of our team in all three phases in the effort to do so. The quarterback position obviously being a significant component of it, but I just think largely we move with the mindset that we were trying to improve ourselves in all areas.”
Wilson, Tomlin said, was thorough in his research to prepare for his conversations with the Steelers. That, coupled with his drive for greatness, impressed Tomlin, who enters his 18th season at the helm of the Steelers.
“The most attractive component of his profile to me is his quest for greatness man, his chase for legacy,” Tomlin said. “This is not a guy who is hungry, meaning that he can be satisfied. This is a guy that’s driven, and you want to work with people of that mindset. This guy’s got a vision of what he wants his career to look like and he’s got a lot of work to do.
“Obviously he’s had some professional challenges, particularly in recent years, and he appears to be a guy that wants to meet those challenges head on and continue to move forward with his career and that was attractive.”
“He’s just got a lot of experience in terms of what it takes to be the guy over the course of a 12-month calendar and I just think that that’s something that a younger guy like Justin could learn from.”
Mike Tomlin, on Russell Wilson and Justin Fields
Wilson arrives in Pittsburgh after being released by the Broncos following two tumultuous seasons. Wilson’s first year under head coach Nathaniel Hackett was a disaster by nearly every measure, but he rebounded in Year 2 under new head coach Sean Payton with 26 touchdowns to eight interceptions. Still, Payton and the team opted to bench Wilson, release him and take on an $85 million dead cap charge, something that stemmed in part from Wilson’s refusal to adjust his contract midseason.
In his introductory news conference in Pittsburgh earlier this month, Wilson doubled down on his desire to keep fighting and competing with the Steelers.
“I think that everything didn’t go our way the first year,” Wilson said of Denver. “This past year I felt like myself again. And so I can’t wait to just put on the cleats and go after it.”
One crucial part of Pittsburgh’s quarterback equation was the subtraction of 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett, who the team dealt to Philadelphia in a picks swap. Tomlin said Pickett’s desire for a fresh start following Wilson’s signing factored into the decision to move him.
“From his perspective,” Tomlin said, “[Pickett] felt like a change of scenery would be a good thing. Obviously when we felt the trajectory of the business with Chicago moving in the right direction, those dominoes started falling. I won’t get into specifics about our conversations, but I am appreciative of his efforts during his time in Pittsburgh and I wish him nothing but the absolute best in Philadelphia.”